During the AGM and in last few weeks many questions were raised about publishing of your significant cemeteries in the website of ASCE. We have examined two important factors about this:

1. Current status of memberships and databases
2. Best technical possibilities to include and later update the info about cemeteries

Regarding status of memberships, it is important to stress out that current databases (lists of cemeteries, organizations and partners) were a bit outdated. Since the membership has grown significantly in the past few years, many new situations have developed. Some cemetery changed status, management, many people changed their email address, many companies have changed the website.

Since we expect further growth in membership, We have found it important to create a system that will simplify management of all the content regarding cemeteries. No less we find it important to make this data avaliable for research and simple to archive.

With this in mind we have decided for a system of dispersed content. Each member (organization that manages the cemeteries and pays the membership) will receive access to the Google map describing it's cemetery. Access will be granted to the person that is recognized as the administrator within member's organization. If there are more cemeteries a member manages, they can add cemeteries to the map. ASCE secretariat will build first map upon the information we currently have (in the website or otherwise). Each member can then update that information on the map.

We will do the same with photo material. We will produce albums of photos for each cemetery and members administrators will receive access to upload photos and further manage the album (edit annotations, photo geo-position, authors,...). After the albums are updated, we will post them on the website, as well as use the photos from albums for other occassions.

Beside creating a well-maintained content base, we expect following benefits to the members:

Maps that can be used anywhere in the internet

When you will finish creating your map, you will be able to use it anywhere - in your website, website of your local tourism office or other relevant website. No additional costs or work. Simply copying the iframe code will be enough.

Photos that can be used anywhere in the internet

No more searching for or sending of photos via email. You will easily send the album or particular photos link to those that should use them. Photos can be easily used in other websites, like city's tourism website. And best of all, you are in charge of the photos.

Many of members have asked us these days about the progress and availability of the video and promotional magazine of the Cemeteries Route. The project team has informed us that the materials will be available this week in the route's website.

We are in a process of renewing the databases of ASCE. Especially since the association has grown very much in recent years and there are a lot of new members, partners, associates and different projects members, we would like to have a more clear database to easily manage all the realtionships.

Therefore in the next few weeks we will contact you to provide us some further details.

We are in a process of renewing the website communications, as well as establishing a simple but comprehensive online presence. One of the main problems in the past was managing the content of the website. Even though it was built on a very good open source system, editing required a lot of work. All the members were also included in a built-in Google map, but were later not added or updated.

As it has proven during past few weeks, this system is also quite hard to transfer from one country to another - not because of technical difficulty, but because of the learning curve in managing the system by the editors.

This problem can not be overridden just by choosing a different content management system, but by also changing the organization behind it and focusing on importance of each aspect of the website.

Therefore we have decided to focus the web communications in future on: